Insulated rail-joint.



L. GRIFFITH.

INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APBLIOATION FILED JULY z5, 1912.

Patented Feb.4,1913.

L GRIFFITH INSULATBD RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25 1912 Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

sanas PATENT torsion...

Lawngnncn GRIFFIN-nor rc'mxiauts, NEW YORK.

INsULArpD RAIL-:formi 11o 'whomconcern l', LLBe it'fknown that I, LAWRENCE GRIFFITH,

a vcitizenbf the United States, and resident i y ofthe city'of Yonkers, county of West'- chester, 'and* State of New York, have invented 'certain new and useful Improvev sulating ments in' InsulatedA Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification. Y

One of the niain objects of this invention is `to provide a rail joint which maybe used in connection with tie plantes under the rail ends and without the necessity of placing inmaterial between said tie plates and the rails.

'It is thev common practice in insulated j i' rail joints Where tie plates are used to insert a' strip of fiber or other suitable hard insulating material between the rail. base and thetie plate. This is objectionable for the reason that the insulation is- 'soon disintegrated and destroyed by the constant ham- "mering or -pounding of the rail thereon. It

is manifest, therefore, that to provide an etlicient insulated rail joint in which tie plates maybe used, said plates and the rails being vin direct contact, is very desirable. The useof tie plates has Vbecome practically universal in Amodern railroad building and it, becomes practically necessary, thereforez to use tie plates under the rail joints.

Another 'object of the'invcntion is to rol vide a tie plate especiallyl adapted for improved rail joint construction.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the'- joint that it'serves as a'rail anchor 'to` prevent longitudinal movement or creeping l of the rails.

-There are other important objects and advantages of-tlie invention which will appear hereinafter. v

In the drawlngs,

Figure -l is a transverse sectional view on the line I-I of Fig; 3;

Fig. 2`a similar view on the line. II-II of Fig. 3; 3 a plan view ofthe joint; Figs/1 a side elevation thereof; AFig. 5 a transverse sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 7 Fig. 6 a similar view o n the line VI-VI of Fig. 7; Fig. 7 a plan view vof a modified form of the joint; and Fig. 8 a side elevation thereof.

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1 and2designate the rail ends which are se arated by the insulation l3. Under I the rail 1 is-placed a tie plate 4, ami-under rail 2 is placed a tie plate 5. Under lthe heads of the rails and bridging the joint liespeciacation attenerePatent. Application lecl July 25, 419112. Serial 119,711,485.

' joint.

tween; them are placed wearingnpiecesiij which bridge the .joint between therail endsA 'and extend throughout the length of the joint. These wearing `pieces are outwardly its end with a downwardly extending lockrial longitudinal movement of said wearing pieces The wearing pieces and the splicebars are insulated from the rail ends by the insulation 9 which'its closely against' the rails and lies between the'wearing .pieces and the heads of the rails, and between the splice-bars and the. bases of thev rails, so'. that the Wearing pieces and the splice-bars .are insulated from bot-h rails, said insula-..

tion extending throughout the length of the a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The joint bolts 1l are insulated from the rails and the splice-bars in the usual" manner. The inner edges of the wearingpieces it closely against the webs of the rails so that there is' practically no inward movement of saidwearing pieces d uringthe inward adjustment of the splicebars. 0f

, Patented Feaaieia.

. ing flange 8 whichis adapted to'engage the i 2 ends ofthe splice-bars to prevent any mate-y ss" The base f Bauges 10 of the splice#4 bars extend outwardly a considerabledis'- tance beyond the edges of the rail bases, forcourse, the, splice-bars vhold the wearing pieces closely against the insulation and the movement of said wearingr pieces during adjustment will be only suiicient to take up the wear on the .insulation and to firmly clamp the insulation againstt-he rails.

The rail ends rest directly onr the tie plates 4 and 5 with no insulating material inter-v posed between them. It 'is necessary. ther-'efore,that the tie plate under one rail shall be insulated from vone of .theksplice-bars, the tie plate under the other end being insulated from the other spre-bar. To ac-- complish this in a simple manner and with-- out theusev of insulating material, l extend the base flanges of the splice-bars a considerablc distapga, `wbeyond the longitudinal edges of the raiibases, as previously described. As shown in Fig. l, the base flange of one splice-bar extends outwardly beyond the longitudinal edge vof one tie plate .and

said splice-bar is secured to the tie by means lare formed with apertures 14a'through which the spikes may pass. A

Each tie plate is formedv with a longitudinally extending upstanding ila-nge 15 v l close to one .of its edges, which flange 4is adapted to edge `of the rail base. is also formed with a longitudinal flange engage the longitudinal Each tie plate 16 on the opposite orv reverse side thereof from the 'flange 15, this latter flangebcing parallel with `flange l5 and placed a short distance inwardly from theedge of cated. i formed on the tie plates for the purpose of the plate near which said flange is lo- These flanges or shoulders are resisting the outward thrust `on the rails,

and when in use, one or the other' flange is n placed in Contact with the out-er edge of the rail base. In. applying these tie plates tothe joint.y the'shoulder 15,- of one tie plate is brought against the outer edge of the base flange of one rail and the shoulderltl of the other tie plate is brought against the outer edge of the base of the other rail. The base. flanges of the splice-bars extend i outwardly beyond the edges of the rail bases lthe yother rail cud is so disposed that its flange 16- contacts with the outer edge of, thcfrail base and the spikes 14 pass through thelasellange of the splice-bar and through apertures in the tie plate. The tie plates are of such width that theydo not Contact with the spikes o-r other fastening means except Where said fastening means pass directly through them. The inner or unilanged edge of the tie plate is provided with apertures 17 through which the spikes which pass through the splice-bars are driven when flange 15 is in -contact with the rail base, as shown in Fig. 2.

It is manifest that with this arrangement of the tie plates and splice-bars it will only be necessary to insulate the splice-bars from one rail.- It is manifest that thespikes 14 Itis, therefore, clear that it is not necessaryl y vto place insulation between the splice-bar and the rail end thus electrically connected. However, in practice it is probable that inlsulation will be placed as shown in the drawings in order to simplify the manufacture and assembling of the joints.

By 1 providing a tie plate with the two flanges 15 and 16 formed thereon said plates may be formed by one set of rolls and the depending flange will enter the wood of the tie and act or serve as an anchoring flange.A By providing the two flanges near one edge of the plate the said plate is practically universal in its application to rails of vario-us widths.

From the foregoing it is manifest that one splice-bar will be completely' insulated from one t-ie plate and that the other splice-bar will be similarly insulated from the other -As shown in t-he drawings, tie

tie plate.

plate 4 is not engaged by the spikes 12 which,

plate. The spikes 14 are arranged on opposite` sides of the joint betweenthe railends and on opposite sides of the rails so that they. are diagonally opposite each other.

The same is true of the spikes 12'. It is, A

therefore, manifest that while I use a tie plate under each rail end and bring the rail in direct'contact wit-h it, no electric current can find its way around the joint.

In the construction shown'in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive, each tie plate is formed with a longitudinally extending upstanding flange 15a which 'engages the edge of the rail base, and with a similarly extending flange 16a on its opposite edge which engages the longitudinalI edge of the base flange of the splicebar, the said flange 1a being arranged adjacent to the apertures 14b and the slots 13 in the splice-bar. IThe ange 15a terminates short of the longitudinal edge of the adjoining splice-bar so that it will not be engaged by the spikes 12 `which are arranged to` clamp the longitudinal edge of said splicebar. The spikes 14 pass through the splicebars and through-the tie plates, thereby serving as a means to anchor boththe tie plate and the splice-bar to the tie. As the joint bolts 11 rigidly connect the splicebars with the rails it is manifest that the rail joint structure forms an eflicient rail anchor to 1prevent the longitudinal creeping of the ra1 s. I

It is manifest that in both ofthe constructions shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, and in Figs. `5 to' 8 inclusive, only one form of tie plate is used. The tie plate shown in Figs. "l to 4 inclusive may be used under either rail end.and may be used either side up. By placi the flange or shoulder 16 in engagement -with the edge of the rail base the splice-bar will project very slightly beyond the op osite edge of the' base.. This permits the spi bar and into the tie wit-hout engaging the tie plate. lWhen 'the shoulder 15 is placed in engagement with the `edge of the rail base the spikes 12 may be driven into the tie without engaging the shouldered end of the tie plate. 4It is, therefore, clear that by placing one or the 'other surface ofthe tie Plate uppermost the said plate will project beyond the rail a greater or v-less distance, on one vside or the other, as :maybe necessary to l. shown with only two spiking slots'l". It

is, of course, manifest that the number ofI these slots may be varied as desired.

What I claim is: l. An insulated rail joint comprising a pair of splice-bars, means' for insulatlng said splice-bars from rail ends, a pair of tie plates, one foreach rail end, and means for securing one end of each splice bar tol a Q tie, said means beingkout. of contact with the f adjoining .tie plate.

2.4 An insulated m11 joint-.comprising a' pairy of splice-bars formed with outwardly,

extending baseflanges, means for insulating said splice-'bars from rail ends, a pair of tie plates,9ne foreach rail end, the base flange Q of.one; .splice'bar extending outwardly be-4 yond the longitudinal edge of one tie plate' and the base flange ofthe other splice-bar extending outwardly beyond the longltudinal edge of the other tie plate,A fastening means adapted/.Ito secure the splice-bars tothe ties without passingthrough the tie ,plates and fastening means adapted to passi through the splice-bars and the tie plates.

3. An insulated rail jointV comprising a pair of splice-bars-formed with outwardly extending base ianges, means for insulating said splice-bars from rail ends, a pair of tie plates, one for eachrail end, the base flange of one splice-bar extendlng outwardly beyond the longitudinal edge of one tie plate and the base flange of the other splice-bar extending outwardly beyond the longitudinal edge of the other tie pla-te, fastening mean., adapted to secure the splice-bars to the tics without passing through the tie plates, fastening means adapted to pass es l2 to be passed through the splicethrough the splice-bars and the tie plates, and longitudinally extending upstanding flanges carriedCby the tie plates and adapted to engage the longitudinal edges of the rail bases.

4. An insulated rail joint comprising a pair of splice-bars formed with outwardly extending base flanges, means for insulating said splice-bars from rail ends, a pair of tie plates, one for each rail end, the base flange of one splice-bar extending outwardly beyond the longitudinal'edge of one tie plate and the base flange ofthe other splice-bar extending outwardly beyond the longitudinal edge 4of the other tie' plate, fastening means adapted to secure the splice-bars 'to the ties without contacting with the tie plates, fastening -means vada ted y-to pass throughthe splice-bars and t eV tie plates, and longitudinally extending upstandin anges carried by the tie plates and adapte toengage the longitudinal edges of the base flanges of'the-splice-bars. f

'5. In an insulated' rail joint, the combinationof the meeting ends of two rails, splice-bars, wearing pieces between the splice-bars and the rail heads, -v insulating A by one end of each splice-bar will be insu- 1 lated from one tie plate. l'

6. In an insulated rail joint, the combination ofthe meeting ends of'two rails, splice-bars, insulating material between the splice-'bars and the rails, the splice-bars being formed with base flanges extending outwar'dly beyond the longitudinal edges of the rails, a tie plate under each rail end,V

means for securing one end of each splicebar to a tie, and means for securing the other end of said splice-bar to the tie out of v contact with the adjoining tie plate, whereby one end'of each splice-bar -will be insulated from one tie plate.

7. In an insulated rail jointl the combination of the meeting ends of tworails, splicei bars .formed with, base flanges-,extending outwardly beyond `the longitudinal edges of the rails, wearing -pieces between the splicebars and the rail heads, said wearing pieces.

being wedge shape in cross section and tapering outwardly, a tie plate under each rail end, means forl securing .one end of each splice-bar to a tie, and l'means for securing the otherend of said splice-bar to a tie out of contact with the `adjoining tie plate, whereby one end of each splice-'bar will be insulated from one tie plate.

8. In an insulated rail joint the combination of the meeting ends of two' rails, splicebars formed with base flanges extending outwardly beyond the longitudinal edgesbf' the rails, wearing pieces between the splicebars and the rail heads, said wearing pieces being wedge' shape in cross section and ta gering outwardly and bridging 'the joint extending base flanges, means for insulating said splice-bars from the rail ends, a pair of tie plates one for each rail end the base l flange of. one splice-bar extending outwardly beyond the' adjoining longitudinal edgef'of one tie plate, and the base flange of the other s lice-bar extending outwardly beyond the al joining longitudinal edge of the other tie plate, fastening means adapted to vsecure the splicebars to the ties without K contacting w1th the tie plate, longitudinally extending flanges on the tie plate, one on each side of and at different distances inwardly from one longitudinal edge of Said plate, whcrebyboth tie plates may be'of the same constructionl and adapted for use un# der either rail end.

\ l0. Inl an insulated rail joint, the combination of the meeting ends of two rails, a tie plate under each rail end and in electric contact therewith, a pai-r of splice-bars," means for insulating one splice-bar from one rail end and the electrically connecterl tie plate, and' means for insulating the othe splice-bar from the othervrail .end and its? electrically connected tie plate, the-tie plates I being arranged in a staggered relationwith' the rail, .for

respect to the centerline of the purpose set forth.

11. In an insulated rail joint, the combination of the meeting ends of two frails, a tie plate under each rail end and in electric contact therewith, each tie plate being formed on opposite sides with rail-engaging shoulders in verticall planes separated a suitable distance from each other and from the parallel edges of the plate, a pair of splice-bars, and means ,for in sulating one splice-bar from one rail end and the electrically connected tie plate, andl means for insulating the other splice-bar from Athe other rail end and its electrically connected tie plate.

12. In an insulated rail joint, the combiv nation 'of the meeting ends of two rails, a tieplate under each rail end and in electric contact therewith, a pir of splice-bars and means for insulating one splice-bar from one rail end and the-electrically connected tie plate, means for insulating, the

other splicefbar from the other rail end and its electrically connected tieplate, the tie plates being reversible, and arranged in a staggered relation, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

13.A In an insulated rail joint, the combination of the meeting ends of two rails, splice-bars formed with base flanges extending outwardly beyond thelongitudinal ledgesof the rails, metallic wearing vpieces betweenthe splice-bars and the rail heads,l

a rail support under each rail end, means for securing one end of each splice-bur to a tie, and fastening ldevices for securing the other end of each of said splice-bars to a .tie without contactingy with the adjoining 'rail support, whereby one end of each splicebar will be insulated from one vrail support.

14. An insulated railjoint comprising a pair of splice-bars, means for insulating said splice-bars from the rail ends, a pair of tie plates, one for each rail end, means for securing one end of each splice-bar to a tie, said means being out of Contact with the adjoining tie plate, and longitudinally npstanding anges carried by the tie plates and adapted to engage the `longitudinal edges of the rail bases.

A In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

LAWR. GRIFFITH.

Witnesses LILLIAN MCGUIRE,

F. R. MiLLER.'

y l Copies ofV this patent may be obtainedfor five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofvPat'ents,

- Washington, D, C. 

